Author
Topic: Coastal Blue and questions (Read 1240 times)

I have only made one blue cheese so far. It was a Stilton style. It will be ready to cut next week and I thought I would start another blue. I recently bought Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Karlin and the Coastal Blue on p 184 caught my eye. You use Camembert molds, so it makes small cheeses. I thought that would be cool to have small cheeses. I think the make went well.

Heat milk to 86 deg F. Add starter and P roqueforti. Stir well and let ripen 60 minutes.Add diluted rennet. Let sit 1-1 1/2 hrs or to a clean break. ( I realized that the amount of rennet listed for the cheese was 1/2 of what is used for hard cheeses. My milk needs about 1/2 the amount listed on the bottle to set the curds in the proper floc range. So that is where I came up with my rennet amount). By 1 hour I had a nice clean break. I am wondering what the floc time for this cheese is supposed to be. I may have to do some playing with it.Cut into 1/2" cubes. Stir for 10 min. Let settle. I let the curds sit about 2-3 minutes before I started stirring. After stirring for the 10 minutes I let the curds settle for 10 min. I should have waited a little longer.Ladle off 4 qts of whey. I got 2 qts ladled off and had to let the curds sit another 10 minuted to safely ladle the next 2 qts. Stir for 5 min.Ladle curds into a lined colander. Let drain 5 minutes.Put curds in Camembert molds. You will need 4 for 4 gallons of milk. I cut draining mats to fit the top and bottom of the molds. Let drain 12 hours flipping 4 times.Remove cheeses form molds and sprinkle evenly with salt. Set on a mat in a ripening box at room temp and 90% humidity, flipping daily for 2 days. Pierce the cheese 4 times vertically and 4 times horizontally. Move box to the cave at about 55 deg for 6-8 weeks. Flip daily and wipe of unwanted mold.My question come in about the piercing. The last time I made blue cheese, or I should say the only time, I pierced at about 10 days. At day 4 I had no mold on the surface. So if I have no visible mold at day 2 should I wait to pierce? Should I leave it out til I see mold? Has anyone else tried this recipe?I will post a picture when they come out of the molds.

It is mold powder. When I ladled the curds out, you could see specs of the mold powder. There was some curds that had more. That was a chunk with the mold powder.Oh and I am loving summer milk. The butter is so pretty!! But I will say, I get better yields in the winter. Even though it is white cheese.

I just made this cheese last week -- looks great but hasn't starting turning blue? I pierced Monday, supposed to have blue mold around now and isn't happening. This is my third blue (1st this recipe) and I had no trouble in the past. Wondering if it's too cool or could my ripening box be too small for air to circulate? Am using a pyrex dish/lid to keep the blue for taking over my new wine fridge. Thanks!

Logged

Milking Nubian Goats in western MA and trying my hand at fresh and aged cheeses

I had to re-innoculate my current blue to get it going, at least on the outside...have no idea what's going on inside. I made a morge and poured it over the top and then more on the bottom after it was flipped.

Blue mold just started lightly. I used the 200 recipes book and noticed last night that too much salt can delay the mold growth. In that recipe (for 3 cheeses) it says use 3/4 tsp salt for the tops of the cheeses ... then turn and salt other side. Since this also stumps me in other recipes, would that be understood as 3/4 tsp to EACH cheese, or 1/4 tsp to each top, same on reverse? I used 3/4 tsp per cheese and perhaps that has caused the delay? Really want these ready for my folks to visit next month!! Thanks.

Logged

Milking Nubian Goats in western MA and trying my hand at fresh and aged cheeses